


An Unacceptable Offer

by Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains



Series: Of Tears and Ash [10]
Category: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Genre: Discussion, Gen, world building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25565974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains/pseuds/Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains
Summary: Autolycus meets with a potential employer.  The meeting doesn't go as well as he expected.
Series: Of Tears and Ash [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1050806
Kudos: 8





	An Unacceptable Offer

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline-wise, this is set roughly concurrent with "The Worth of a Wineskin."

The interior of the tavern was smoky by this time in the evening.A good portion of the clientele from the rush around dinner has departed already, leaving the atmosphere notably more vacant, and subdued in a somewhat hollow manner.It was the time of the evening when discussion took place.Real discussion, not the trivial small talk which floated about the common room during its busiest hours.These were the hours when those with actual business to take care of (in manner different forms, it should be said), came in to talk about that business under the auspices of getting a drink with a friend or associate.This was a time when deals were made, and plans were conceived.This particular establishment had a reputation for being an ideal location for such ‘meetings.’Those who operated it had tight lips and wise ears.They didn’t hear more than they needed to in order to take care of their customers, and if they did hear anything else, they kept it to themselves.

It was not Autolycus’s first time at the bar.Nor was it his second or third time there.If his memory served him well, which he tended to think it did, this was the seventh time he had wound up meeting with a potential ‘customer’ in this exact bar.He was certain that the staff recognized him by now, but if they did, they said nothing that would confer this recognition, a degree of professionalism which he couldn’t help but appreciate.

Keeping with the idea of continuity, he was currently seated at the very same table he occupied each time he held a meeting at the establishment.He liked the view it offered.He could see much of the room, including the entrance, and given that it was located in a corner, there was no way for anyone to watch him from behind without his knowledge.

Perhaps the only element of the meeting which deviated significantly from his previous rendezvouses with employers at this location was that he was not particularly interested in the job he was being scouted for this time.All of the previous meetings had led to deals which were mutually beneficial for all involved parties.He had a distinct feeling that this meeting would not lead to such a deal.More than likely, it would lead to both parties departing in a disgruntled mood.Autolycus, at least, was already heading in that direction.He blamed his customer for this fact.

The other man, who had introduced himself as Anaxagoras, a name which Autolycus doubted was his actual one, was irritatingly stubborn.To put it in blunt terms, he seemed incapable of taking a hint.Autolycus had indicated several times, through the directions in which he had steered the conversation, that he wasn’t interested in taking Anaxagoras up on his job offer, but the man so far had apparently failed to pick up on this.Autolycus was generally loath to blatantly turn down a deal in unequivocal terms, but it seemed as though he might soon be forced to do just that.He thought it unlikely that the other man would give up with his continued attempts at persuasion if he didn’t make it abundantly clear that he wasn’t taking the job.

He had determined this much from the initial pitch Anaxagoras had given him.It didn’t take long to make the decision.The job wasn’t the sort of business he did.Frankly, he was somewhat insulted that the man had come to sought him out for it.He was a thief, and a damn good one at that.The best one to be found in all of Greece, if he did say so himself, which he most definitely did.That being said, it wasn’t important not to conflate a thief and an assassin.Yes, each profession involved similarly work.Breaking, entering, eluding authorities, the ability to almost literally ‘disappear’ at a moment’s notice, and the like.But, there was also a substantial difference between the two.At the core of the art that was thievery, Autolycus defined its objective (not to mention his personal calling in life) as ‘liberating’ possessions from the captivity of one owner, and ‘rehoming’ them with a different owner.With a not-insubstantial transaction taking place in the middle of the process of course.The objective of the art of assassination, on the other hand, was to eliminate targets, in as neat a manner as possible.Theft and murder weren’t the same thing.Sure, they sometimes went hand in hand, but they were not one and the same.Only a fool would think so, as far as Autolycus was concerned.

It wasn’t that he had terrible reservations when it came killing.He had done it before, though only out of necessity, rather than out of an actual desire.He would generally admit that there were some people he wouldn’t mind knocking off if the opportunity presented itself, and others who he thought probably had it coming, even if he wasn’t interested in doling out their justice himself.Yet, all in all, the truth of the matter was that Autolycus had no interest in killing.If it was something which became necessary in order to ensure his own survival, or the success of a job, then he would go through with it.But it was never his primary focus.It was most definitely not something which he could be hired to do.He wholeheartedly felt that to do so would sully his own craft, and the reputation which he had carved out.He was the King of Thieves, and with that came a certain sense of dignity.He only took on jobs which interested him, heists which he thought worthwhile.This job had failed to impress him.

Oh, it wasn’t that the nature of the job itself was boring.The possible motivations behind it were rather intriguing when he considered what they likely were.All the same, he wasn’t about to become a murderous pawn in the political game that Anaxagoras was attempting to drag him into.It was one thing to steal from kings and other rulers.They always tended to have plenty of shiny trinkets.Were they incensed over the theft of some of said trinkets?Undoubtedly, but they had enough trinkets still filling their coffers that their memories of that which had been taken from them faded relatively quickly.Oh yes, they might seek retaliation at first.But they would eventually give up the hunt.Killing a king, on the other hand, tended to have more severe repercussions.That wouldn’t be a move in the best interest of his ongoing career, assuming that he wanted to remain a king of sorts himself.There were too many spiders in that web.It was too easy to get caught up in the glutinous filaments.And a caught fly was a dead fly.

Autolycus realized, with a small amount of pleasure, that Anaxagoras had finally ceased his attempted persuasive pandering.It seemed that the man had droned on incessantly for the better part of an hour.Autolycus wasn’t sure whether Anaxagoras was truly as dense as he seemed to be regarding Autolycus’s clear disinterest, or if the whole spiel was nothing but a long-winded act, possibly intended to somehow wear down his resolve and coerce him into taking on the job, no matter how great his disinclination to do so.If the latter happened to be the case, then Autolycus decided he would have to reevaluate his growing spite for the man: clearly a greater degree of detestation would be in order for an affront of such a magnitude.

Seeing that the other man was now watching him curiously, waiting for a response to his latest flood of words, Autolycus decided it was time to terminate the meeting.Already, it had dragged on far, far longer than he would have preferred.Normally his conference with a potential employer lasted an hour at the most, perhaps ninety minutes if the job in question was a more complex one.Autolycus’s preference was for meetings which got to the point quickly, and only went over the relevant details.He didn’t have time for circumlocutory discourse, filled with extraneous facts and excessive pleasantries or musings.He didn’t deal with clients for the conversation after all.If that was what he wanted, he obtained it from sources he actually considered worth conversing with.That was a cut that Anaxagoras would never make, not by any stretch of the imagination.

“Look, good Anaxagoras,” Autolycus stated, forcing his tone into affability.“Let me be blunt with you.You know, normally, that’s not my sort of route, but I want to make sure that my journey isn’t too circuitous, if you see the path I’m on.”

Anaxagoras narrowed his eyes for a moment, regarding Autolycus intently, before nodding.

“Fantastic, fantastic,” Autolycus continued.“Now, here’s the verdict.”He leaned in a bit closer, keeping his voice reserved and careful.“As fascinating as the gig you’re offering me is, I’m afraid I’m going to have to turn you down.It’s really a matter of principle, you see.I don’t kill kings.Not that I mind when they kick the bucket.It’s no sweat on my back.But doing the deed myself?Bad for business.I don’t want people getting the idea that I’m an assassin, you know.Now,” he paused for a moment, before adding, “If you want something procured for you, just name it, and that’s a job I’ll be happy to accept.But otherwise, I’m going to take my leave.”He pulled back, giving Anaxagoras some time to process his answer.

Anaxagoras considered Autolycus silently for the better part of a minute, his facing morphing into what the thief decided to label a ‘look of utter contempt.’At last, he spoke, a sneer in his words.“I take it I can’t convince you to reconsider then?”

“That you cannot,” Autolycus affirmed brightly, with a cheeky grin.“My cards are on the table.I’d suggest you don’t read them myself.You might end up weeping.”He gave a low giggle at his own humor.The other man was clearly not amused.

“Very well then,” Anaxagoras practically spat.“Then I believe our business is finished.”Without any manner of parting salutation, or another word, for that matter, he rose and made for the door, not looking back once.

Autolycus shook his head.“Some folks are just sore losers,” he observed under his breath.He had a suspicion that this refusal of the offer might result in whoever Anaxagoras’s employer was trying to ‘pay’ him back, but he wasn’t all that worried.Turning back to the table, he took a sip of his wine.The other man had paid for their drinks, and Autolycus fully intended to at least get something out of the evening.

**Author's Note:**

> This is another one of my HTLJ fics from 2018 (set in my "Of Tears and Ash" AU) that I never posted, but decided I might as well, considering the time I put into them. Once again, since I'm no longer really in the fandom, I'm backdating this to when I wrote it, so no one thinks I'm suddenly back into HTLJ.


End file.
